


Away From Home

by The_Quartermasters



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-04-09 11:26:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4346816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Quartermasters/pseuds/The_Quartermasters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TYL, Hibari spends some time with Dino in Italy after an assassination attempt. Written November 2009</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tsuna was pale when he stood at the head of the mahogany meeting table and announced that there had been an attempt on the head of the Cavallone family a few days prior. There was no word yet on identifying the family that had put the hit out but it didn't look good for mafia relations in northern Italy at the moment. Dino had been in the hospital and was scheduled to be released in a few days. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, continued on to say that he was considering taking a trip to --

"I'm going," Hibari interrupted, his voice and expression just as stonily unaffected as always when the eyes of the entire family turned to his corner of the table.

"W-well, you--" Tsuna began, clearly surprised by Hibari's words. Of course he'd been the Cavallone's student and as such, were Hibari anyone else, it wouldn't have seemed odd to hear his determination. But this was the ex-prefect of Namimori, the Vongola's Cloud, with arguably less concern for his fellow humankind than even Mukuro. "The situation there is--"

"I'm. Going." Hibari's intense, slanted eyes met Tsuna's from the length of the table and the Tenth knew it would be true whether or not he went as Tsuna's body guard or simply shirked his duties and disappeared.

"R-right," Tsuna nodded, understanding there was no use in arguing. "Very well... Please keep us informed of the situation and be safe. Take someone with you. Kusokabe-san, maybe?"

Hibari just nodded once and stood, taking his leave in the middle of the meeting and ignoring Gokudera's outraged shouts after him that they weren't done yet. Yamamoto laughed and remarked on what a good friend Hibari was. It earned him a tonfa to the head as Hibari walked out.

Hibari's connections, in combination with those he earned by virtue of being a Vongola guardian, managed to secure him a private plane-- a preferable alternative to packing himself and his right hand onto a commercial flight full of old people and squalling children.

It was a long flight and though Tetsu seemed interested in engaging him in conversation, Hibari announced that he would be sleeping and was not to be woken until they landed. Tetsu sighed as his boss instantly fell into slumber.

A car met them at the airport and it was late in the evening when they finally reached the Cavallone estate. Romario was there to let him in, the man haggard and rough with stubble and red in the eyes. 

"The boss came home this afternoon," he told the travelers as their things were taken away to their rooms. "He's still sleeping."

"Please inform Tetsu of the current situation," Hibari told him, pausing to inspect himself in a gaudy Italian mirror. The place was a horror show of marble and hideous flower arrangements. It couldn't have been further from Hibari's own minimalist, Japanese abode. He frowned at himself -- rumpled from travel but at least well rested. "Tomorrow the real investigation will begin. Where is he?"

Romario shifted uneasily, eyes drifting upward as he worried the back of his head with a well-calloused hand. "He's-- ah... upstairs. In the master bedroom. Third on the left, but, Hibari-san.. sir. Perhaps your visit could wait until the morning? Master Dino... he--"

Hibari didn't even bother cutting him off with words, simply turned away. "Don't wait up, Tetsu," he called over his shoulder as he ascended the swirling marble of the staircase.

The two right hands shared a bewildered glance.

At the door Romario had described, Hibari met a woman with a silver cart which housed what must be the boss's evening meal. Her surprised expression indicated that she must have been house staff for the recognition that came over her as she looked upon Hibari. 

"I'll see that he eats," he said simply and he let himself in quietly, without knocking, and drew the cart in after him.

The front room which served as a sort of private office was, unsurprisingly, empty, the Cavallone boss more occupied with healing than signing papers. 

Even as Hibari entered the bedroom, there was no movement from within. The form half covered with wrinkled sheets and a comforter tossed aside was still, blond hair a mess about his pillow. Hibari could see some of the extent of Dino's injuries, his torso swathed in bandages, one arm bound to his chest to keep it immobile. His face was bruised, more purple than not, a split lip and a gauze taped over one eye completed the look.

The room was dim and the door that Hibari opened without invitation cast a long stretch of yellow light into the room. He paused, looking in, considering. Wondering if he might have made a mistake in coming. But Hibari Kyouya rarely, if ever made mistakes. The cart was perfectly silent, well oiled as he pushed it across the ornate oriental rugs -- again so gaudy, so ugly, so Italian -- that covered the polished floors. He left it at the end of the bed and stood over Dino's sleeping body, looking over him. The man who dared to call himself Hibari's mentor, as tenderized as meat. Perhaps Romario had been right, that he aught to leave Dino to a night's sleep. Maybe then the thoughts he'd slept through on the plane would be gone and the following day, he could simply go about family business, the business of punishment -- rather than the business of revenge.

But Dino stirred, as though Hibari's dark thoughts were audible, a small, stringy groan slipping past dry lips and he turned in his half-conscious state, away from the injured shoulder, but onto some other hidden wound that left a hiss through his teeth and his eyes, red, bruised dark, fluttering.

"If your doctors knew you better, they would have put you in traction for your own good," Hibari said quietly, as though he weren't talking to Dino at all. And perhaps he wasn't, since he wasn't really awake.

"Nngh," was his only answer, before the young Cavallone rolled toward the edge of the bed with all the determination of the accidentally self-destructive.

Hibari's eyes widened slowly because surely he wouldn't -- after all the man barely had the strength to breathe from the looks of him -- but no, there he went. And before he could think better of it, Hibari rushed forward, half-scrambling on to the bed to catch Dino's shoulders before he could go toppling over the other side and undo thousands of euros of medical treatment. "Idiot," he hissed with irritation.

"Kyouya," Dino breathed, and for a beat, he stilled beneath Hibari's hands. Then, as though it had only just occurred to his body that he ought to be in pain -- particularly with Hibari's none-too-gentle grip -- his eyes flew open, lips parting in a gasp. "Kyouya," he said again. "Ah-- ow."

The younger man's hands released him quite abruptly, letting him sag back to the down comforter. He sat back on his haunches, fixing Dino with his usual critical expression. "One broken arm wasn't enough, apparently."

Dino's hooded eyes swept the room as though looking for others, finally met Hibari's, ignoring his words but offering a question. "I thought Tsuna wouldn't be able to spare anyone these days. Nngh... help me sit up, dammit." There was no bite in the Cavallone's words, only exhaustion, peppered, perhaps with just a little bit of humiliation to have his one-time student see him this way.

Hibari snorted faintly but he had brought Dino's dinner so he offered him a hand in sitting up, pushing several thick, embroidered pillows behind the battered mafioso to support him. "Can you imagine that herbivore trying to stop me?" the Cloud Guardian scoffed and then before Dino could question him, he continued, "Discipline is my specialty, lest you forget. It would be an embarrassment to the family for his 'brother's' assailants to go unpunished."

Dino's eyes flashed as they caught and held Hibari's. "Kyouya. You can't go solo -- they'll be waiting for retaliation. They'll be ready for it." He flinched, shifting to find some way to sit that didn't pain him.

"Tetsu came with me,” Hibari replied easily. "And I'd venture a guess that your men might be interested in assisting me. Would you deny them that?"

"Looking for revenge is a good way to get themselves killed," Dino shot back, lifting a hand to press at his temples as though warding off a headache, or perhaps nursing one that had lasted a little too long.

The raven haired young man frowned at him for a long moment but eventually he just shrugged. Dino wasn't exactly in the best shape for discussing politics -- and nor was he in the best state to do anything to stop him when his pursuit began. He hesitated, eying the cart at the end of the bed. "I brought your dinner," he finally said, realizing belatedly that he was kneeling on the edge of Dino's bed. He regained his footing and drew the cart closer.

"So you did." A quiet sigh told Hibari that Dino would gratefully take the change of subject, would perhaps be able to relax in the face of such mundane conversation as one might have over a meal. "I hope you didn't scare Giulia too badly."

"She seemed to know me. Otherwise I would have fired her for letting me in to your room. I could have easily been an assassin." He lifted the try atop the cart and as he expected, there was a steaming bowl of soup there. He stared at it for a very long moment, briefly looking at Dino and then back at the soup as though it were challenging him, as though he were posturing for a battle to the death. He licked his lower lip slowly and again, considered leaving. Perhaps all the way back to Japan.

"Are you going to hand it over, or are you going to search it for explosives first?" Dino teased, a laugh that turned into a cough which he quickly smothered with his free hand. Then, "Don't worry. I'm sure Romario or someone else is nearby. I won't drop it."

Hibari scowled at him bitterly for another long moment. This is what he'd come to do though and he refused to second guess himself, to let his good judgment cloud his... whatever it was that had made him walk out of that meeting and the next day get on a plane. He rolled the tray closer and took the spoon in hand. When he held it to Dino's mouth, it was with a steady, even grip but where his hands were ready with kindness, his eyes were filled with murder. "If you tell anyone. I'll bite you to death."

Dino frowned, the twitch of his lips clearly indicating he was torn between amusement and chagrin. "My first meal in a week that isn't through a tube." He sighed. It was a fair enough trade. He wouldn't tell anyone that Hibari had held the spoon and Hibari would tell no one that he'd been spoon-fed like a invalid child. He opened his mouth, reluctant but obedient.

For long minutes, Hibari said nothing as he carefully spooned hot soup between Dino's lips. Romario must have moved closer because there was a dignity to him as he ate, in spite of his bruised appearance. No soup dribbled down his chin nor did he accidentally knock the spoon out of Hibari's hand. The threat of harm faded from his eyes and they unfocused somewhat as he watched Dino eat, lips in a pursed frown. Pensive. Quietly angry. "Tell me what happened."

Dino sighed, licked at the corner of his mouth and avoided Hibari's eyes. "They must have been tracking my movements for months. It was the first time I'd been away from my guard since I've been back in Italy. Romario and I-- went driving." He laughed a little. "Serves me right, hm. Pretending to have a normal life for just one afternoon?"

Hibari said nothing, only fed a few more mouthfuls to Dino solemnly. "What did they break? What was the damage?"

"Bullet grazed the bone," Dino nodded down at his bound arm. "Wrecked my favorite car. Romario walked away from the crash, took half of them out before the cavalry arrived. He's-- he's taking it pretty hard."

Hibari sighed, long-suffering and fed Dino quietly until the Italian waved him away. He set the bowl lightly aside and sat on the edge of Dino's bed, looking at him, calculating, quiet in that intimidating way he had. "Vandalism," he said finally, softly and lifted a hand. His fingertips brushed lightly over the gauze that swathed Dino's arm, always so deceptively delicate. A pretty, almost soft-looking wrapping for the ferocity within. Soft, tapered fingers. "You won't lose it? The arm?"

"No," Dino confirmed, not bothering to hide the relief in his voice. "I'll need physical therapy, and... it'll take a while, but... I'll be fine." A beat, then reluctantly, "You'll want to talk to Romario. I think he knows who it was. I don't remember much and we haven't had the chance to talk since he brought me home."

Hibari nodded. "Tetsu is being debriefed by him. I'll get more details in the morning." He paused, considered. "I suppose you need sleep."

"I suppose so," Dino echoed, but made no move to lay back down or close his eyes or tell Hibari to leave. "I haven't done much more than sleep for the last week," he added, somewhat petulantly.

Something warmed the edges of Hibari's eyes, something that was similar to a smile. Dino was exhausted with healing now but he already could anticipate that Romario would be fretting over him within a week, trying to convince his energetic boss to stay in bed. "And I missed it -- you being quiet for a whole week. What a shame."

Dino did smile, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a sort of fond amusement. "You were the one who woke me up."

"So I was," Hibari admitted with a brief shuttering of eyes. Then his gaze was looking over Dino's face in the dim light and he reached out again, this time for blond hair. His fingers sifted through Dino's hair, moving it away from his cheek. Stitches. He looked on silently for another moment and a single finger touched the sutures very lightly, very carefully. "When Namimori is vandalized," he said softly, "I am careful to record every detail. To make sure that the punishment fits the crime."

It would have been easy, to tease Hibari, to question whether he was comparing the Cavallone Tenth to a school building, but in truth, they both knew he was, and they both knew that it meant... something. Dino closed his eyes, trusting, as the younger man's fingers searched the battleground of his face. "Almost lost the eye," he admitted, turning his face so that Hibari's touch grazed the edge of the gauze. "It will probably scar."

"Hm. I suppose you want me to tell you you'll still be beautiful." When Dino slit an eye, Hibari was smirking just faintly. Mocking him. His hand passed over Dino's eyes and his touch traveled from gauze to skin, brushing over his bruises and scrapes with impossible gentleness. "At least it wasn't your tattoo," was the best condolence he could come up with and even that was half a tease.

"I think I'll get another." Dino didn't call him on the tease-- on the gentleness either. "Something on the other arm, when it heals. Any ideas?"

"Hm..." Hibari considered, tracing the edge of an ugly purple and green bruise that marked Dino's temple. "Perhaps... butterflies? Kittens? Something to fit your personality. That's what tattoos are about, correct?"

The young Cavallone gave an unseemly snort, lifting his good hand to swat Hibari's away. "That's right, Kyouya. If I recall, however, it's you who has the weakness to cute things." Dino gave a pointed glanced to the tiny bird nuzzled in the back of Hibari's collar.

Hibari was smiling before he could think better of it. A real, genuine smile -- if small, if coy, the smile of a sly cat. "I suppose perhaps I do," he answered in surprising honesty, in an unusual acceptance of any appraisal that Dino gave him. What had he meant to do, coming here like this? Revenge, of course. Punishment, discipline. But there was more to it than that, far more too it. Perhaps he'd intended to accost Dino physically at first sight. How dare he nearly get himself killed when there was still all this unresolved tension between them. It would have been a lot simpler to do it that way, no words or eye contact, nice and straightforward, the way Hibari preferred it. But as brutalized as he was, even Hibari couldn't bring himself to inflict new pain upon the injured mafioso. And the relief he found himself experiencing with the teases shared between them, knowing that Dino wasn't crippled or brain damaged or -- or dead. He hovered close, too close for Hibari. One hand lifted and Dino's eyes followed his fingers as they slowly, gracefully lifted to his lips, a single pale fingertip touching oh so lightly the still faintly swollen split at one corner.

For a long breath, Dino said nothing, did nothing, stayed as still as a child willing a butterfly -or a small bird- into his palm. A faint shiver slid across the mafioso's shoulders, and he breathed almost shakily through his open mouth. Hibari's hand moved away. "Kyouya..." he began. And then, hesitating, as though perhaps he'd meant to protest, but instead he said, "Why did you really come?"

Hibari sat back again and folded his hands in his lap with poise. The smile faded but his face was not unkind -- they were distinctions Dino knew now, like reading in an entirely different language. The language of Hibari was fraught with subtlety -- and danger if misread. "I came," he said slowly and reached back to scratch Hibird's head with a single finger. "Because if you had died, I would have had to kill you."

Dino smiled, translating, then answered, his voice as gentle as Hibari's hands had been. "So... then what's the course of action if I only 'almost' die?"

A long pause, Hibari looking off to the side as he stroked Hibird's head thoughtfully. "I'm still considering that alternative," he finally said. It was strange not to have the answers instantly, not even ones that he held close and unseen. Past needing to be here, everything in him demanding to be here, he had no answers. Perhaps if the man he loomed over wasn't as fragile as the tiny bird under his finger, he might have had better answers. "Heal faster and I suppose we'll see."

Dino laughed, a quiet, shallow laugh that didn't disturb his injured body, but no less sincere in its sentiment. It was, perhaps, presuming too much, but that didn't stop him from reaching out for the hand that lay idle on Hibari's knee, taking hold of it, with even a bit more strength than Hibari might have given him credit for. "Don't get yourself killed tomorrow, and maybe we will," he agreed.

For long moments, Hibari allowed it and looked down at their fingers resting against one another. He turned his hand over under Dino's. Palm to palm. His thumb brushed slow and soft over the top of the tattoo on the back of the other's hand. 

"I'll wait," he finally said. "We'll wait. When you're healed, we'll discipline together. You don't need me to protect you."

"No, I don't," Dino agreed. "Good. Good." He squeezed at Hibari's hand once more, then let it go, fussing with the comforter instead. "I'm glad you came, Kyouya. It's good. To have you here."

"Mm." He smoothed his slacks. "You should sleep." He rearranged Dino's pillows and let him sink down into a lying position again. Then he gently picked up the tiny yellow bird from his collar and placed it in Dino's hair. Hibird chirped once and started nesting, making himself comfortable. "In case you decide to roll off again," Hibari explained. There was a high-backed velvety chair at Dino's bed side. He moved to it and settled in the same as Hibird had.

Dino didn't need protecting. He didn't need Hibari to stay. He didn't even need someone to feed him or fluff his pillows when it came right down to it. It was a good thing then, that Hibari Kyouya didn't much care what the Cavallone did or didn't need. 

And anyway, what was the point of being a mafia don, if Dino didn't at least once in a while get something he wanted. 

"Goodnight, Kyouya. I'll see you in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly I just realized that this story, though finished, was NEVER posted anywhere online in full. Well here you go, internet 7 years later. There's PORN at the end!

When word was received back in Japan from the Cloud Guardian that he would be remaining in Italy for an unknown duration of time, no one was quite sure what to make of it. Gokudera raged, calling it insurrection, that (though Tsuna had not given them) he was disobeying orders. The chagrined Tenth insisted that they would be fine without Hibari for a little while and with a casual compliment to Gokudera's own strength, the right hand was completely undone. And besides, reasoned Yamamoto, perhaps Hibari himself would be growing stronger if he was planning to stay until Dino was back on his feet. The Cavallone boss was his mentor after all. Reborn remained ambivalent on the subject, shrugging casually and commenting about the value of recreational time taken when it was appropriate.

Hibari gave Kusakabe the option of getting back on the jet and heading back to Japan but Tetsu wasn't adverse to the idea of a vacation. And besides, taking some time to do in depth investigation into the attack and formulate a well planned retaliation wasn't a bad idea. Dino's staff was delighted to have the two 'handsome young house guests'. Their boss's bachelor lifestyle must have been boring, Hibari could only guess, since they always seemed particularly delighted on the occasions that the Vongola had come to visit in the past. Hibari and Tetsu were each given a lavish room and as he hung up his clothes (he would have to buy more or have them sent over) he looked around at the eye soring decor and wondered if he would be able to survive what promised to be months of Dino's recovery.

Much to Romario's relief, Hibari was interested in lying low for the first few days. Dino mostly slept or was in a pain-killer induced stupor and his staff was constantly tending to him creating a bustle that Hibari wasn't fond of. Dino had almost begun to wonder if he'd been forgotten when his door opened and he heard the younger man's polite but firm voice.

"I'll take it to him. Thank you."

"Will you be taking lunch with Master Dino, sir?" His cook.

He could almost hear the thoughtfulness that must have passed over Hibari's face. "That would be acceptable."

"I'll have your meal sent up as well, then, sir," Vittore answered, the last Dino heard before the door closed behind him and Hibari's footsteps carried him into the room.

Dino smiled a quiet greeting and set aside the book he'd picked during his convalescence. "Lunch already?"

"Apparently so," Hibari replied, tray in hand as he approached the bed. Dino was well kempt, he noticed, for someone who was on bed rest. His pajamas were always clean and his hair brushed. It was a good thing -- Hibari's aversion to the slovenly was nothing short of spite. Perhaps that's why Dino did it. He set the tray on the bed side table and removed the silver bell. "Solid food. It looks like you're going to make it after all."

Dino glanced over the slices of dark bread, the wedge of soft cheese and the two halves of a ripe apple. "I'm still waiting for the day that Vittore finds me fit enough to enjoy pasta again. I'll be skin and bones on this sort of diet..."

Hibari arched a brow. "Eat that sort of food while you're on bed rest and you'll have the build of most of the dons here in no time." He slid the tray into Dino's lap.

"Can you imagine me with a belly?" Dino asked, laughed. He nodded gratefully, settling the tray into place, and surveyed his options. No spoons today -- nothing to give away the shakes that took hold of his limbs even now, when he held a hand aloft for more than a moment, no reason to ask for Hibari's help. lifted the apple to his mouth, bit a large hungry bite.

His guest poured him a glass of water without being asked, rolling his eyes at the idea of a plump, pot-bellied Dino. "Don't think I'll stay around if you do," he warned. "None of that hideous jewelry, either." There came a knock at the door and Vittore handed him a tray of his own which he thanked her for and shut the door behind him. When he sat down at Dino's bed side with his own meal, he revealed it and blinked in confusion for a moment. It was... sushi. To an effect. There was rice and fish of some nature, some of it wrapped into rolls with not nori but something leafy and green. In one that should have housed something like masago or tobiko, there was caviar. "Your staff is very... thoughtful."

Dino glanced over at Hibari's tray and wrinkled his nose. "There are some kinds of fusion cuisine that should really be left alone." He stole a glance at the tiny turtle tucked atop the neighboring pillows. "Enzio will eat it if you don't."

"Mm." Hibari inspected the imitation of nigiri, unsure of what sort of fish it was. It was cooked, which he found to be a better option for who knew if they would have chosen sashimi grade. He picked up the chopsticks and tasted it. Shrugged. "It's not sushi. But its edible." He paused and eyed the caviar. "Except perhaps that."

" _I'll_ eat that, if you don't want it," Dino remarked cheerfully. "It's an acquired taste." He didn't wait for an answer, however, before picking up the cheese knife and cutting thin, almost perfect slivers to lay across the bread, stopping halfway through to lower his arms, hoping, perhaps, that Hibari wouldn't notice his pathetic lack of stamina.

The caviar 'roll' was carefully picked up in Hibari's chopsticks and graciously set down on Dino's plate before he continued with his own meal. He didn't make any comment about Dino, quiet and inwardly focused as he usually was during a meal. Hibird found his way through an open window as they ate and Hibari touched his head apologetically, having nothing to offer. The bird lighted to Dino's shoulder to beg there instead.

The Cavallone Tenth was only too happy to oblige the tiny creature, breaking loose a fingerful of bread crumbs, depositing them on the corner of the tray, tapping the wood invitingly. Not one to play favorites, he then passed a slice of apple to Enzio, smiling fondly as the reptile snapped hungrily at the fruit.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, apparently ill-content with the silence which Hibari typically found quite comfortable.

"Mm," Hibari assented. "Your estate is nothing, if not comfortable." He offered a bit of the leafy stuff from his sushi to Dino's turtle and the creature eagerly accepted that as well. "We'll begin reconnaissance tonight. By the time you're well, we'll be able to formulate an attack."

"Mm," Dino nodded, understanding. "That's good to hear." A beat. "Not too restless, yet?" He knew it was expecting a lot of the younger man, to see him wait instead of act.

Hibari considered this for a long moment and then shrugged. "The baby told me I should treat it as a vacation. I've never taken a vacation. I'm not sure what it means."

A chuckle met this announcement, and Dino waved it away when Hibari shot him a look. "No, no, it's just... well, I suppose I'm not surprised. What _do_ you do to relax, Kyouya?"

A blank stare met him. "Why would I have to do something to relax?"

"The stress of dealing with a never-ending string of herbivores?" Dino guessed, mostly managing to mask the amusement in the quirk of his mouth.

Hibari frowned -- but it wasn't an angry or an irritated frown. It was a thoughtful one, considering, as though Dino had said something infinitely wise. But then he shrugged a single shoulder. "I've never required a vacation before. But I suppose it's much more tolerable when I have the opportunity to bite some worthy people to death."

"Mm, quite so," Dino agreed, offering a lofty nod before returning his attention to the last of his apple. "Reborn is a clever man."

"So he is." Hibari examined the last of his meal for a moment and then set it aside. He slid out of his shoes and on to Dino's bed where he picked up Enzio and sat in his place, setting the turtle in his own lap. He squirmed briefly but with a finger rubbing the back of his scaly head, the animal calmed and settled against Hibari's slacks and didn't try to bite him. "Japan seems very far away."

"Are you homesick?" Dino wondered, eyes just a little wider, blinking as he tried to catch Hibari's gaze.

Again, Hibari considered this suggestion deeply and again he shrugged. "I'm deeply comfortable in my heritage," was his reply, watching Enzio's head turn just so that he would rub behind the wide head scales and at the softer skin of his neck.

"Well..." Dino hemmed, coaxed Hibird closer with a few remaining crumbs. "I'm sure I'll be well enough soon... Romario's made an appointment for a house call tomorrow. Just wait, the doc'll have me up and about so quick you'll -- well you'll hardly have time to miss your straw mats and bamboo fountains. Haha."

Hibari just looked at him from the corner of his eye for a long, drawn out moment. Impossible to read, impossible to tell if he was displeased or impassive or upset or just _anything_. Then finally he moved. He closed his eyes and he sank back, beside Dino, into the sea of pillows at the head of the bed. "I want to take a nap."

"You sleep almost as much as me," Dino teased, lifted a hand toward Hibari's face, but something stopped it, jerkily, mid-motion, and it dropped, like a bird shot from the sky, thumping lightly against the edge of Hibari's pillow. "Well, I guess it's not a terrible idea. A nap."

Eyes opened to look at the hand on the pillow, then focused beyond it, looking into Dino's face. So severe, so impenetrable even in this, as intimate a setting as they'd ever shared. "I'm supposed to be 'relaxing'. And you're supposed to be... not-dying."

"Mm," Dino agreed easily, nodding as he settled down onto his side, facing the younger man. "And is napping and eating all I'm allowed to do? I'm sounding more and more like one of your hated herbivores. Heh."

Hibari's expression didn't change. He met Dino's gaze evenly, on his back with his head turned to the side, Enzio resting on his stomach. "What would you rather do?"

"Spar, I suppose," was the more or less honest answer. "Conversation's a welcome distraction from the boredom of being bed-ridden. I might be up for a card game. Do you play poker?"

"No," Hibari replied. "You would have to teach me." He reached across the short distance between them and his long fingers touched Dino's golden hair where it fell across his cheek and the gauze that covered his skin. Just touched it lightly and let his hand fall away again. "Perhaps after a nap."

There was no hiding the way his face blossomed into a shade that hadn't graced his cheeks since teenage-hood, and Dino let his eyes drop, too late to avoid Kyouya seeing his reaction. "I... I could do that. Teach you, I mean. If you like."

The corners of Hibari's mouth twitched and before he realized it, he was smiling. It was a smug, self-satisfied smile. The smile of a cat when it loomed over a wounded bird. He looked away, settled in deeper to the pillows and closed his eyes. "All right." The smirk remained.

"Will you bite me to death if I roll over in my sleep?" Dino wondered, keeping his eyes open just a moment more, watching Hibari's face, almost relaxed, the smile not exactly unfamiliar, but rare enough to not want to miss a moment of.

"I may. If you wake me."

Hibird came to rest on Dino's pillow and settled there. Even Enzio, sensing the mood, curled in to his shell, a little mound of green resting on Hibari's warm stomach.

"Always so reliable," Dino joked, tucking his good arm under his pillow, looking around fondly at the strange little group, the odd sort of almost-family they made, the four of them. "Have a good nap, Kyouya."

In the following weeks, evenings spent out on reconnaissance with Tetsu helped to ease what might have been a very aggravating mixture of stir madness and homesickness. He complained to Dino in the daylight hours of the unseemliness of Italian bars and the perverseness of women on the street. The information they were obtaining was good though and his complaints weren't so deep as to suggest that he didn't want to continue the work. In spite of how noisy and talkative and touchy-feely Italian people were. To the best Dino could tell, the young man was experiencing a bit of culture shock.

Hibari didn't say anything when an imported tatami mat showed up on the floor of his quarters; he said nothing to Dino when the cook actually succeeded in making passable yakisoba. But still, the small gestures continued, Dino's effort to ease his old student into his temporary life in Italy.

He began spending more time out of bed, letting Romario and sometimes Hibari wheel him around in a wheelchair that had belonged to his grandfather. It made him feel awkward and old and he didn't care for it much, but it was better than being bed-ridden.

Hibari continued to visit him, unannounced, and though there might be a stretch of a day or two where he'd entirely disappear, when he returned, he wasn't sour. He would spend meals in Dino's room or on the veranda in the warm spring air. At times he'd let his spiny little hedgehog from its box for some practice. Dino watched from from his balcony when he sparred with Tetsu, his skills sharper than ever and evident even in a mock fight with a far weaker opponent.

He'd often cat nap in Dino's bed after a late night spying on the enemy family with Tetsu or Romario, usually after having lunch. A cool afternoon with a soft, fresh breeze blowing through the curtains and Dino woke to Hibari's hand resting on his stomach, the younger man on his side and peacefully fast asleep.

He hardly dared breathe too deeply, for fear that Hibari would wake and find some reason to accuse the Cavallone of impropriety, never mind whose hand was on whose stomach. So he just watched, entranced by how Hibari's face softened in sleep, no furrows in his brow, the hard set of his mouth relaxing enough so that his lips parted, just enough that his breath ruffled Hibird's feathers where the tiny creature lay nested into the pillow beside his master's head.

Long minutes passed, Dino's breath shallow, watching the face partially obscured by the tiny bird between them. Finally he let go of the moment and shifted to get up -- Hibari's visible eye flicked open with that first faint tensing of muscle. He had always warned that he was a light and dangerous sleeper. But he didn't lash out, didn't tense or jerk away or strike Dino. Instead he only met his eyes, not quite challenging but refusing to release the Italian's gaze for long, silent moments. And then finally, Hibari's hand moved and he rose with a long, graceful supine stretch. They didn't speak about it.

The accommodations that Hibari was provided were adequate, if somewhat overly lavish for the young man's taste. The odds and ends that Dino had ordered to make him feel at home stuck out like sore thumbs around the room. The tatami mats and the bamboo fountain and the tea table with a tea set painted with Chinese characters. The clashing of cultures and colors and time periods gave the impression of a cheap antique store. Hibari almost hated himself for feeling an appreciation for the sentiment instead of dropping the atrocious tea pot off the balcony.

That was one thing the place had going for it, though -- the balcony. The estate was sprawling, the rooms spacious and each of the larger ones had marble balconies that looked out over the vast gardens. Hibari found his time more often than not, when in his rooms, was spent there in the crisp spring air and the peace and quiet. Perhaps this is what Dino had meant when he asked what Hibari did to relax. That is, until the melodic chirp of his phone reached his ears, still programmed after many years to trill the Namimori anthem which Hibird perked to and started to sing along. Hibari frowned deeply when the phone informed him on its display, that it was 'Boxing Club' calling. He tucked the phone back in his pocket.

It wasn't more than two minutes later that his phone gave a chirp. And then another. When Hibari finally flipped it open, scowl dark on his face, "Boxing Club" had sullied his inbox with multiple text messages. _HEY HIBARI. ARE YOU ASLEEP? ANSER UR FONE_! Then, _WHAT TIEM IS IT IN ITALY_?

Hibari's face went lax, expressionless as he stared at the message. Since his arrival in Italy, Sawada had called him a few times to nervously check in on him and on the Cavallone boss, stammering on the other end of the line. Mukuro had also visited him in a dream once, trying to make annoying, nosy conversation about Hibari's whereabouts. It'd riled him into a fight that he woke up from in a cold sweat, out of breath. But in spite of the irritation and frustration that he experienced with both of these instances, he also found that they came with a certain amount of relief. Something familiar. Even if that something was Tsuna's stammering or the desire to shove a tonfa through Mukuro's ribs.

His phone began to ring again and he flipped it open. "Why are you calling me?" he demanded tersely. "It's three AM there."

"OH HI, you answered! That's great!" Ryohei's voice came through the line loud enough that Hibari had to hold the phone away from his ear. "ANYWAY, here's the thing! I tried one of these drinks -- Lussuria told me they were good. You remember him? He's the extreme boxer who's in the Varia. ANYWAY, this drink was EXTREMELY DELICIOUS. So I had twelve of them."

Hibari set the phone down on the thick, marble rail beside him. He didn't even need to put it on speaker. He considered pushing it off the edge of the balcony. The problem was, he liked his phone. Even if he didn't care for the voice coming out of it.

"So you called me," he observed flatly. Normally Hibird was interested when Hibari used his phone. Now the little creature looked at the shivering apparatus reproachfully.

"Well SEE, I figured you were the only person I knew who was still awake! YOU KNOW, since you were-- are in Italy which is, you know, extremely far away!"

Hibari arched a brow faintly. "You mean to say you've managed not to wake the entire base?"

"OH! See, I'm not at the base! I'm... somewhere." The sound of shuffling fabric and a long pause. "Ebisu district... maybe block thirty? THERE'S A SEVEN ELEVEN HERE."

Hibari sighed. "I'm going to assume that this drink was energy and not alcoholic so I don't need to get a hold of the bomber to do my work for me and administer a punishment for loitering drunkenly in the streets." Not that twelve energy drinks were that much better than twelve alcoholic ones, especially with someone like Ryohei.

"Yeah! Energy drinks! They were amazing! But the Seven Eleven said they ran out. BUT LISTEN. I called! I did. For a reason. But I forgot. OH WAIT YEAH. I forgot the number. To get a car. To pick me up. Do you know it?"

"For a cab?"

"No, no no. Like, a driver. YOU KNOW, _Family_." The stage whisper with which Ryohei tried and mostly failed to present this information was a nuisance, but most likely wouldn't key any passersby into the knowledge of the white-haired man's mafia connections. "YOU KNOW, someone who KNOWS WHERE THE BASE IS. I'm not supposed to tell a CAB that."

There was a long pause and then a sigh. "I see." Why exactly was he babysitting the Sun guardian from halfway across the globe? Perhaps because it was easier than coming home to whatever trouble the man would inevitably stir up in his 'heightened' state. Knowing Ryohei, he'd manage to stumble into some unknown enemy family's living room and start a fight. He picked up his phone and texted a message to Tetsu to contact a driver to pick Ryohei, based on the location he'd mentioned. "Someone should be on their way shortly. You can thank Tetsu later."

"You are the EXTREME BEST GUY EVER," Ryohei shouted his thanks.

Hibari put his palm over the ear piece. When he tentatively withdrew, he said, "Don't cause any trouble. Go back to the base. And don't wake the baby. Good night."

There was no answer on Ryohei's end, but Hibari rather suspected that the clatter and the creative cursing meant the boxer had dropped his phone. It was as good an opportunity to hang up as any, yet very nearly immediately after Hibari's phone clicked shut, it rang again, the same tune, the same number.

"Hibari! Haha, dropped the phone... anyway, there was something else I was going to say. I forgot to the extreme! So yeah, it was this. I think it's extremely awesome of you to be visiting Dino-san. He's a good guy, y'know? Extremely cool!"

Hibari blinked at the phone several times rather uncertainly. "It's family business," was his scowling response. "It would be bad politics to let an assassination attempt on the boss of an ally family go unpunished."

"Of course, I know that. But I mean, he's like... your mentor, too, right? See, I told that squid-head you had friends. Isn't that great? Being friends with your mentor?"

If Ryohei had seen the glare which he fixed the phone with, he would have recoiled in fear. Or perhaps he wouldn't have, all things considered. But the idea of those two herbivores discussing his private matters did not sit well with him at all. "He's not my mentor," Hibari answered icily. "Just because he acted as an opponent for me when I was younger doesn't mean he was my teacher."

"Well, then, I mean, isn't it cool to the extreme when opponents can become friends? It's like me and Luss-san! We used to be rivals and now I see him all the time!"

Well that was an unsettling comparison. "It's nothing like that," he replied flatly. "I'm only here because he's injured."

"Yeah, that's the only time the tako-head will admit he's friends with Yamamoto, too. Is when he's shot up or beat up. I get it. I think it's super great! He's probably extremely glad to have you there!"

Somehow, even he wasn't sure how, Hibari's scowl managed to deepen. "Stop equating me to you herbivores. And don't go back to the base and start spreading romanticized rumors, or the minute my plane lands back in Japan, I will bite you to death like you've never been bitten."

"Oh hohohoho, Hibari, my FRIEND. You know I would never go spreading around your private business." Hibari could almost hear the exaggerated wink in his voice. "But between you and me? You could have much worse... friends than Dino-san. You should hear some of the stories that Luss-san told me that he heard from Squalo-san--"

The phone snapped shut. And this time, Hibari found the power button and held it down until the phone chirped and shut off. He'd done his duty -- if the idiot needed further assistance, he could wake Sawada or his moon-eyed sister. Rankled, he sat back with his spine flat to the cool marble wall, one leg dangling over the edge of the balcony railing. When, exactly, had that testosterone-powered simpleton become so worldly? And furthermore, when had he decided to share

personal details of his life with Hibari? He shuddered at the idea of what the boxer might have done with that flamboyant okama. And that he would dare to draw any similarity between them was appalling. He would definitely cause the white-haired man some pain when he returned.

But technically, in spite of all of his protest and irritation... wasn't it true? That's what he'd come here for. He'd admitted that much to himself from the beginning. That it was some sort of... _feelings_ that had made him insist so shortly that he would be coming to Italy the moment he heard of Dino's infirmary. And yet he'd not managed to address this issue in spite of staying in Dino's house for weeks. The best he'd managed was some physical proximity. A few intimate touches which, as it was, breached Hibari's normal desire for a space bubble. He sighed faintly, petting Hibird's head when the animal landed on his knee.

Damn that blond. Damn him for the way his heart had silently skipped a beat when Hibari had learned of his injury. The way his mouth went dry with -- was it dread? And the way his blood boiled whenever he thought of the bastards that had made the attempt on his life. For two reasons -- for the attack itself and for planting that very first thought that had put all of this into motion. 'That's _mine_.'

But still, in nearly a month, he'd failed to secure that notion. Since when did Hibari Kyouya hesitate in taking something that he wanted -- something that he knew was his? He ran his fingers over the box weapon on his belt and frowned.

Perhaps tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned bright and early, though the curtains in Hibari's chamber were drawn tight and the room dark as a tomb. Hibari woke not to the thin stripe of sunlight trying to sneak across his floor but to the creeping footsteps that followed a path to the foot of his bed.

He was perfectly still, listening as the footsteps came closer, slowly, carefully. His fingers curled around the tonfa beneath his pillow, waiting for precisely the right moment...

And then there was a solid thump of a knee hitting hard wood and a familiar Italian curse followed by the sound of a tray and its contents very nearly toppling across the bedsheets.

Hibari jerked up, thoroughly startled -- so much so that he didn't put the end of his tonfa through Dino's eye. He did sit up in bed with the weapon in hand, glinting like a parody of dew in the morning light as he stared at the other man. He was balancing a tray in his good hand. If this wasn't the greatest potential for disaster Hibari had ever seen, he wasn't sure what was. "What are you doing?"

"Haha... um, good morning Kyouya. I was, ah-- well, I was trying to bring you breakfast." Dino's face displayed a proper expression of chagrin when Hibari switched on the lamp beside his bed.

Hibari looked at him strangely, tucking his weapon back under his pillow. "You do reali-- put that down. You do realize that you still have a broken arm, don't you?" He scowled faintly but it wasn't a particularly angry-Hibari scowl. With the threat of danger no longer looming, he was merely sleep muzzy. He'd warned Dino about waking him many times before.

"Ah-- yeah, thanks," Dino answered, bashful in that way that told Hibari he hadn't been thinking about his arm or his health at all. The Cavallone set down Hibari's tray on the bedside and after a moment of hesitation, settled on the side of the bed.

When Hibari's sleepy eyes turned on the tray beside him, his frown faded with gentle surprise. It was fish. He lifted the lids on the fancy, hand-painted Italian dishes. Miso and rice. A traditional Japanese breakfast. No sweet, sticky pastries or heavy breads or dripping jam and marmalade. The smell of it hit him and even Hibari couldn't hide his pleasure at it, a smile curling the corners of his mouth.

Dino's smile echoed his instantly and a small breath of relief escaped his lips. "Romario let me go down to the kitchen under my own power this morning. I thought I might be able to acquire something... a little more traditional for your breakfast. Luckily, the new assistant chef knows a good Asian market in the area."

"You still shouldn't be running errands," Hibari scolded airily even as he picked up the bowl of steaming miso (only dripping over the side a little after its near tumble from the tray) and breathed it. "But this looks very good." He paused for a long, thoughtful moment, and finally added, "Thank you." before sipping at the soup.

"Of course," Dino hummed in reply. "You've got a very charming smile, Kyouya. You should use it more often."

Hibari eyed him for a moment before taking the tray into his lap and picking up the rice bowl and chopsticks. It would be a shame for such a good breakfast to be allowed to grow cold. He took a bite of grilled fish and nori (real nori, not cabbage or romaine) before answering without meeting Dino's eyes. "I have been."

He could feel the Cavallone start in his seat without needing to look up. A quiet chuckle followed some moments later. "Well. You should know that... I count myself lucky whenever I have a chance to inspire it myself."

Hibari didn't respond directly to it but there was a strange, comfortable silence that followed as he savored flavors familiar to his tongue. They were silly gestures, all of them. The ugly teapot and the fake sushi. This was the most spot on so far, really. But there was something about it... that unwound a tightness in Hibari's chest, made him want to let his eyes linger on Dino when he fell asleep with a book on his chest, all disheveled and sloppy. It made him think of the

fire he'd felt in his veins when he'd made his hasty departure from Japan. And when he looked up in the dim bedside light and the warm glow of the curtains at sunrise, all of this swirled briefly in his eyes when they met Dino's. And then he looked back to his meal. "You must be feeling much better."

Dino's answer was to rub a palm, embarrassed, at the back of his head -- a gesture, Hibari presumed, he'd picked up in his time in Japan. "I'll admit, I've been going just a little bit stir crazy... I think Romario would like to see me stay in bed for another month. But aside from the arm and a little stiffness, I'm really okay. I keep trying to tell him."

"Hm." Hibari peered at him skeptically. "I suppose we'll be ready to complete that raid then, soon." He didn't sound particularly enthused, his voice flat and even and his eyes turned down when Dino looked at him again.

Dino blinked, clearly shocked by this display, or rather, lack thereof. It wasn't like Hibari to not be excited about a hit like this. It couldn't possibly be that he didn't want to hurry back to Japan? It wasn't even this revelation itself that was surprising, so much as that Hibari had allowed himself to be read so easily. "Well... the truth is... I'm not sure I'm up for something quite that... ah... strenuous, yet. I hope you won't be... too put out to have to stay a little longer? I know, I know, I'm as weak as an common herbivore." He smiled a little ruefully. "What can I say."

Hibari took a few more bites thoughtfully, his eyes so hooded they were very nearly closed. Then he shrugged. "It's acceptable." He turned his eyes up again then, finally and he smirked rather deviously. "You can't help being what you are, I suppose."

Dino chuckled, shrugged. "No, I suppose I can't. Cursed from birth, you might say." A beat. "Lucky for me, you're understanding." It was almost a tease, but the sincerity was evident.

There was a silent, faint smirk that lingered while Hibari finished his meal and sat back with the comfort of hot tea. "You've already eaten, then," he questioned.

"Mm," Dino nodded. "I had to try the miso, after all, to make sure you would be satisfied." There was that not-quite-tease again. Hibari felt him watching as he sipped the tea.

Hibari just gave a quiet "Hm." that was amusement and lofty approval in one. Then he set aside the tray on the bed side table and without a word, he moved to one side of the bed, tea still cradled in his pale hands.

For a moment Dino didn't realize that he'd been offered an invitation, but when he glanced up to meet Hibari's eyes and found only a slight raise of brow, he seemed to understand. Watching the younger man carefully, he stood and turned, climbing back onto the bed, beside Hibari, his shoulders to the headboard, legs stretched out before him. "Sleep well?" he wondered, ever casual.

"Mm," Hibari agreed. "Considering you live here, it's surprisingly peaceful, particularly at night. No unexpected visitors barging in. At least not until morning." Hibari's shoulder touched his and stayed there, lightly. The teacup hid his expression.

If Hibari saw the pink that bloomed across Dino's nose he said nothing and when the Cavallone spoke, it was with only some measure of hesitation. "I thought-- I thought maybe you'd walk with me in the garden today." He hurried on. "It's just that I'm dying to get out of this house for just a little while and Romario says you seem to like the gardens here and it seemed like maybe a good idea. What do you think?"

When Hibari looked at him, he thought that Dino suddenly seemed much younger than the twenty-seven years he had behind him. He looked more like the Dino that had driven Hibari mad in junior high. He forced himself not to smile for that. "That would be acceptable," he answered and looked down at the dregs of his tea. He eased just a little more against Dino's shoulder, letting some weight go there and felt strange and tense inside. Because he would have been content to stay like that for a very long time, instead of wanting to shove Dino away and kick him out of the room.

For a long, mostly awkward minute, neither of them moved much. Once or twice Dino's hand crept along his own knee, his eyes darting to Hibari's matching knee, almost touching his. Hibari set aside his empty tea cup and then there was no excuse left for the silence between them. Dino cleared his throat, shifted a little to turn his head toward the other man. Their shoulders moved apart. Dino licked his lips. "Kyouya..."

At his name, Hibari's head turned as well, meeting Dino's gaze with that impossible to read expression of his. Impenetrable. Then... hesitation. Distinctly. "I'll ready myself for the day. Tetsu and I are going in to town this evening for investigation."

"Ah! Yes, that's... that sounds great." The tension went out of Dino's frame, but the awkwardness lingered even as he slid from the edge of the bed, back to his feet. "Ah... I'll just--" He cast a glance around, as though looking for something. "Oh! Your dishes. I'll just take those back. Ah. So. I'll see you later." He took up the tray then, and gave a nod before turning and hurrying toward the door.

Hibari frowned after him but he said nothing as Dino almost tripped again, regained his footing and hurried out.

He took his time getting ready for the day. Another nice amenity of the Cavallone estate was the bathrooms which were as lavish as an upscale onsen. He was always pleased to linger in the steam and tile and hollow quiet that was provided there. It was mid-morning by the time he made his way downstairs, his suit crisp and perfectly pressed and tie neatly in place, shoes polished. He made his way to Dino's office where he knew the older man had been slowly catching up on paperwork after his intense convalescence. He let himself in without knocking.

"You requested my company," he said, good natured, when Dino looked up at him.

Dino fought a grin as he easily and happily set aside a stack of papers, flickering with a variety of flaming seals. "Yes, yeah, I did. And I'm more than ready for a break here." He chuckled. "I've got no stamina for paperwork even when I'm at my peak. Ugh." He stood then, and Hibari saw that he'd smoothed his hair, dressed in the suit Hibari hadn't seen him in since he'd arrived. "After you," he gestured, waving toward the door in his office which let out to a sitting area with steps down to the gardens.

The estate's gardens, true to any Italian estate worth its salt, were luxurious and sprawling. Creeping vines and gleaming pillars and shiningly white trellises. It was a different sort of garden than Hibari was been used to but he found that he liked it, even if it was as over the top as the architecture and interior design. There was just something different about the spilling and crawling of green life, up the walls of the estate and over the fences outside and brimming beside the paths and around the fountains that was appealing.

Out here, in the still of the gardens, they even managed a comfortable sort of quiet, Dino's shoulders relaxing and his step slowing to a stroll. It was some time before he spoke, eyes on the trees overhead. "I know it's different than the kind of gardens you see in Japan," he hummed, as though reading Hibari's thoughts. "But I think I know one thing that's the same. I thought maybe you'd like to see them." He grinned, led Hibari down another path, half-hidden among overgrown ivy ("I like it like that," he'd explained, much to the chagrin of his gardener) to a gate which Hibari had not found. He produced a key then, pushed it open. "Go ahead."

Hibari lifted a brow at him curiously. "Something secret?" he questioned but he allowed Dino to lead him on nonetheless. Arches boasted spring flowers overhead while the fingers of vines reached for the cobbled path beneath them.

"Not secret so much as valuable. I couldn't bear to see them vandalized or stolen. Come on." They crept down a cobbled path, as though sneaking into someone else's garden. Dino disappeared through a space between two walls and when Hibari caught up, he found himself standing in an open space, a small, well-kept grove, a semi-circle of towering trees. Cherries. "I know you're missing the viewing season in Japan... so..."

They were perfect. Bright pink blossoms floating softly on the gentle breeze. Healthy, luscious cotton candy clouds. Were it not for the clipped hedges and the ironically European rectangular pond beyond, they could have been out of a samurai film or painted in detail on a scroll or depicted in some girly anime.

An uncomfortable shiver tore its way down Hibari's spine. He'd long ago been cured of his Sakura disease but the memories of the weakness it brought up made his stomach clench. The smell of them was redolent of Mukuro's entrapment and made him think of the helplessness he'd never before and never since experienced. When Dino looked at him, smilingly searching for a similar reaction to what he'd seen over breakfast, he found Hibari grimacing faintly.

His smile faded instantly and he returned to the younger man's side, concern in his eyes. "Kyouya? What's wrong?" A hand hovered between them, halfway to Hibari's arm, hesitating.

For a long moment, Hibari said nothing but his grimace softened into a thoughtful frown. He looked not to the cotton candy or the pink snowflakes but rather his eyes focused on Dino's face and the worry and disappointment that was so clear there. So easy to read, just as much as he always had been. And as the seconds passed and the petals of sakura drifted around them, his disdain faded. So much like the ugly teapot still in his room, they were wrong. In and of themselves, unappreciated, unwanted, even uncomfortable. But it wasn't, he realized, about what they were but what they meant. This man had spent every day since he'd arrived, in spite of his own aches and pains, searching for some new way to make him smile. He didn't. But he did reach up, taking Dino's face in his hands as he finally did what he'd come to do. He kissed once the older man's mouth, slow and firm and lingering.

Dino's stiffened, his uninjured arm startled into immobility, reaching out for nothing as Hibari kissed him, though his fingers grazed the other's hip briefly. He was frozen, as though waiting for him to pull away with distaste, to pull out a tonfa and punish him for something. When the kiss was broken, he sagged forward, lips parted and flushed, and his arm finally found and circled Hibari's waist. A beat. Dino laughed quietly. "I wasn't ready yet," he protested in a whisper. "Can we try that again?"

Hibari looked at him curiously but only a little didn't pull away, the toes of polished loafers touching fine Italian leather. There was danger in this, of course. Although it was entirely possible that one of Dino's men had tailed them through the garden to keep an eye out. He realized he didn't care either way. Even if it might mean they somehow ended up falling into the pond beyond the sakura in a fit of Dino's clumsiness. Slowly, tentatively, as though learning to dance for the first time, Hibari's hands slid behind Dino's neck, watching his face. Inquisitive, questioning, curious were those eyes. Interested where there was normally characteristic disinterest. "All right," was his answer. He eased closer.

And Dino breathed, smiled, and pulled Hibari closer, dipping his head to reach the younger man's mouth, an answering kiss offered whole-heartedly this time. He was gentle, almost tentative, perhaps still expecting Hibari to change his mind and beat him about the head instead. But the kiss... that was sincere, the way his arm tightened around Hibari's frame, that was real, the way he sighed into his mouth, easing back enough to whisper, their brows still touching. "I've wanted to do that for a long time, Kyouya. It seems even now, you have more courage than I."

The set of Hibari's brow was out of place, furrowed deeply but his lips were... almost pouting. Pressed together, pursed just faintly. For a long moment he said nothing in response though perhaps there were hundreds of things that went unsaid because that's how he was. The 'I've wanted it a long time too but didn't know it'. The 'This is all new to me.' The 'Thank you.' What he finally said, very quietly was, "If you'd have died and left this in the air, I would have bitten you to death."

Dino didn't laugh, though it wouldn't have been strange to. Instead, he took another risk and kissed Hibari again, a quick touch, and another on his cheek , noses bumping. "I was foolish," he admitted. For letting this go for so long, for getting hurt in the first place, for pushing aside his own feelings in order to maintain an 'appropriate' relationship with his ex-student. "Forgive me, Kyouya?"

It was strange, looking at someone's face so close -- that is, outside the heat of battle, with no tonfa holding their attack at bay. But nonetheless, Hibari's expression relaxed slowly and he looked over Dino's features contemplatively. He eased a hand through the silk of golden hair, letting it sift through his long fingers slowly. The sakura were completely forgotten to instead examine the sincerity and emotion in the depths of Dino's brown eyes. He didn't answer

directly but instead kissed again, soft and experimental at Dino's mouth, everything new and unusual, with fingers buried deep in his hair.

Dino was only too happy to find Hibari's hands in his hair, on his neck, a gentle, considerate touch he'd never seen him offer anything but his bird. "Kyouya," he breathed, lightheaded and smiling again, rubbed at his jaw with a thumb. "Thank you for coming."

"Hm." He closed his eyes briefly as Dino's touch trailed his skin. "I don't care for this place," he said, not accusatory but rather simply matter of fact. "Show me the rest of the garden."

"Of course," Dino answered instantly, not asking for or needing an explanation. "Anything you want." And then, with little more warning, he took Hibari by the hand, as though they were school children, and led him out of the grove, back through the vines and out the gate. "Have you seen the maze yet? It's not very big, but there's a fountain in the middle. I'll show you."


	4. Chapter 4

It was only the very next day that Hibari began to wonder if giving in to Dino's whims was, in fact, a good idea at all as he found himself in a boat on a mucky looking (and smelling) canal, being serenaded by an Italian man with a long pole. "Isn’t it great?" Dino had asked him. "Everyone should experience a gondola ride at least once."

The expression on Hibari's face could only be described as 'inscrutable' as the thin boat glided over the surface of the waterways of Venice. He wasn't any particular expert on the subject but he had to wonder how this was considered romantic. Japan had plenty of canals, smelling of stagnant water and rust. But no one there decided to put little boats on them and claim it to be the perfect place to fall in love. Europeans were so strange. "Tell him to be quiet," he said, with the faintest nod to the oarsman.

Dino blinked, then laughed before waving to grab the gondolier's attention and thank him politely, in Italian for the song. When the man nodded and quieted, the whole experience became infinitely more bearable. "I love Venician architecture..." Dino sighed, wistfully, leaning back to stare up and up at the towering brick above them.

Hibari blinked at him for a moment, settling in to the small, plush seat they shared. Then he followed Dino's gaze up at the buildings stretching over head. They were old and for the most part, worse for the wear. The water stripped away the finish on most of the buildings and the bricks beneath were bare like bones with the skin stripped away. A layer of dirty algae clung at the water line. 

He supposed it could be worse. At least there was moderate solitude. It occurred to him that he would need to take heed and keep Dino firmly planted in his seat until they returned to the dock and Romario met them to drive to the restaurant. The last thing he wanted was for the other man to fall overboard into the filthy water. After thinking about this for a moment, he slipped his arm under Dino's, taking it firmly. Just in case.

He didn't bother meeting Dino's gaze, even when he knew the older man had turned to him, with that wide-eyed expression like a child shocked to be given praise. And after a moment, Dino recovered, and he felt the man scoot closer, press them shoulder to shoulder like they had been the morning before. This time, though, the awkwardness gave way to something else, something maybe easier. The gondolier politely kept his eyes on the canal. Dino smiled.

Hibari glanced at him, features unchanging. But he didn't push Dino away, in spite of the gondolier hovering behind them. Thankfully there was at least the language barrier that kept the native from overhearing their conversation. Dino's frame was warm and solid against his side and he found it a more pleasant sensation than he might have originally expected. Dino felt his shoulders relax as he looked out over the bow of the thin boat. 

"I hope this doesn't mean you take me for a girl to be wooed," he remarked dryly, though not with as much as disdain as it could have had. Perhaps even a sprinkle of humor.

Dino chuckled, shook his head. "Don't worry, Kyouya. I know very well that you aren't a girl." A beat. "Still, it's not so bad is it? Being 'wooed'?"

Hibari weighed this more seriously than Dino expected, thoughtfully watching the lap of canal water. "I suppose not," he finally said. "So long as you don't start bringing flowers. Then I might have to discipline you."

"I'll make a note," Dino replied, teasing, but fondly. "No flowers." A pause. "Is there something else you /do/ like? Besides sparring and discipline, of course."

"No," Hibari replied with all of his usual severity. He looked at Dino from the corner of his eye. "You've showered me with gifts since I got here. I don't need anything else."

"Ah, I see," Dino answered and it seemed to Hibari as though he were both a little disappointed and yet trying not to laugh at the same time. "It's the Italian way, I suppose."

Hibari shrugged and quietly contemplated for another long moment. He'd never been particularly adept at expressing himself beyond the lash of tonfa or the glare to freeze a soul in fear. So finding the words to explain that he was here of his own will and that Dino needed cloy for his attention didn't come easily. Finally he settled on, "This is enough."

A long moment later, when Hibari could still feel Dino's eyes on him, he finally looked over, meet the Cavallone's gaze. "Kyouya..." he breathed, "You are... an amazing person. Yesterday, in the garden... that? I want to do that again. A million times. I didn't even imagine it would be so--"

Hibari blinked rapidly as Dino's words bubbled forth as though he were helpless to stop them. He put his hand over the Italian's mouth and puzzled over him for a moment. He thought of flowery Shakespearian poetry and did remind himself that they were on a gondola in Venice. When had his life turned into a sappy Western film? "We will," was the reassurance he offered as he let his hand slide away.

A dark blush colored Dino's face, his lips parted in mid-breath when Hibari's fingers fell from his mouth. "Sorry," he breathed, chagrined. "I'm just...ah. Impossible, I suppose." A born and bred romantic, in truth. Still, his eyes were alight with the hope that Hibari's two words inspired. "I want to make the most of the time you have here. But I know you don't need gondola rides or flowers."

He didn't disagree with Dino's self assessment but he did smile just a little bit as he settled back in his seat. And perhaps he leaned just a bit more against the other's frame, his hand coming to rest on Dino's wrist. "Get better and perhaps you can offer me a decent spar before I leave," he replied and then fell quiet again. Intensely thoughtful, frowning hard. The idea of leaving was unpleasant, in spite of being quite sick of Italian architecture and Italian food and Italian people and bustling servants and gaudy furnishings. How strange. "It's quite far," he remarked, completely offhandedly. "Japan."

Dino said nothing, for once, but it was just that silence that said he likely understood the implication of Hibari's comment. He felt the other man nod, then, belatedly. "The plane ride's not bad, though," he finally spoke, managed to make the words sound just as offhanded as Hibari's had.

"Hm," Hibari replied. He supposed it was true. Particularly when they had access to both the Cavallone and the Vongola connections. Missions to be accomplished and hits to be made and young bosses to be mentored. And besides, did he really think it was a good idea to overdose on Dino? He chuckled quietly to himself.

Dino, unwittingly, echoed the laugh, a huff of breath on a smile. "In the fall, Reborn suggested I plan to visit Tsuna in Japan, too," he pointed out cheerfully. "I don't see any reason not to keep that schedule. Particularly if the Varia can spare a man or two to bulk up my guard."

At those words, Ryohei's nonsensical rambling from several nights before came flooding back to him. The Varia base wasn't far from here at all. Something darkened and tightened inside him, something amorphous and unfamiliar and intangible that made him scowl faintly. Really, he realized, not entirely dissimilar than the knee jerk reaction in his gut when Tsuna had made his announcement at the meeting. "That Varia shark..." He let the words roll over his tongue, not even sure himself what he was going to say until he was saying it without regret. "If he looks at you wrong, I'll bite him to death."

Dino turned to him then, blinking once, twice, confusion evident in his eyes. And then all of a sudden, he was hunching down in his seat, embarrassment and pink painting his features. "That-- haha... that was a long time ago, Kyouya." A beat. "How do you even know about that?"

Hibari shrugged a single shoulder. "I make it my business to know everything," he replied easily. He gave Dino a sideways smirk. Just a little bit threatening. That's what it was. The 'mine' that had resounded through him, so similar to the fire the burned in him for the name of Namimori.

"A-haha... I suppose you do," Dino had that look again, that caught off-guard, in over his head, but strangely and supremely happy look. He turned his hand so that he could take hold of Hibari's, fingers tangling together for however brief a moment the younger man would allow. "I'm sure Squalo has his hands plenty full looking after his own boss."

"Mm," Hibari seemed to agree. And strangely, perhaps only because everything felt so private... in spite of being in public, in spite of the gondolier over their shoulder, somehow it felt that the world didn't exist beyond the small, plush seat they shared. But he let Dino take his hand and watched their fingers twine as though out of curiosity over an experiment. Moon pale knitted with warm peach.

Dino opened his mouth to speak, to say something sweet and complimentary perhaps, but from the corner of his eye, Hibari watched him bit his lip, smiling as he held back, shook his head just faintly and gave Hibari's hand a small squeeze instead.

Hibari himself couldn't quite stop the tiny smile that quirked the corners of his mouth, like a content and sleepy cat. Perhaps it was a bit better than his original assessment, this dirty canal with its tiny boats and crumbling buildings. After a moment he unthreaded their fingers but he kept his hold on Dino's arm and relaxed against the other's frame and felt light hunger tug at his stomach. There was some sort of great meal at some famous restaurant planned, Dino's plans as grandiose as always. He didn't mind. He didn't even mind when they docked and he had to snag the other man by his collar when they finally stood to keep him from tumbling between the boat and the walkway.

It was almost even maybe just a little endearing the way Dino hurried to apologize, clung to his arm as though uncertain his own legs would support him. Some other time Hibari would have dropped him, let him tumble over onto the slippery cobblestones, but this time, now, it was more important for the Italian fool to avoid adding to his pre-existing injuries, else they might never have that spar they both were looking so forward to. 

As expected, dinner was lavish and expensive, but surprisingly, neither Italian or Japanese cuisine awaited Hibari's palette. Instead, Romario drove them to a restaurant a bit farther off the beaten path than Dino's guard might have preferred, but was infinitely more comfortable for a young man who hated crowds. The food was Indian, something Hibari hadn't expected Dino would like.

But it was excellent food and the restaurant was quiet and comfortable and a welcome change of pace from the Cavallone estate (as kind and helpful as Dino's staff was) and the bars that he and Tetsu had been frequenting in keeping track of the enemy family in their sights. He was comfortable enough even to be convinced to have a glass of wine and by the time they made their way back to the car, it was late and Hibari's cheeks were faintly pink. There was a bit of a drive ahead of them and the car was an oddly comforting place, Romario behind the wheel and the back seat warm and welcoming. After a few minutes of watching the lights of oncoming cars sail past, Hibari turned and settled, his head falling to the curve of Dino's shoulder. "I'm going to sleep," he announced.

"Okay," Dino agreed, and Hibari felt the warmth and weight of the man's hand settle on his leg. Perhaps a bit familiar, but then, he expected the Cavallone to still be feeling out their boundaries. They hadn't, after all, talked about this, whatever it was. "Just sleep, Kyouya."

It took Hibari longer than it should have to fall asleep, his cheek resting lightly against Dino's tattooed flesh. But he was comfortable. Listening to the slow breath filling the other man's lungs and the spot of warmth on his thigh. After some time, he turned his head and lips brushed the blue flame on Dino's neck in the lightest kiss. And then he was asleep.

Dino seemed to think it was a good idea to gently gather Hibari in his arms, careful not to wake him, so that he could be carried up the stairs to his bed and laid upon the sheets. And with his arm healed and strength returning, it was likely that he would have had the strength to do this if Hibari hadn't kicked him across the car before fully waking. The Cloud Guardian sat up, blinking slowly. "Hm. Did I break it again?" 

A hissed breath and a shake of head seemed to contradict the pained expression on the Cavallone's face, but he bore it well, and let out a careful sigh when he was sure that he'd just been rattled and not damaged. "No, no. I'm fine," he further clarified, smiling somewhat ruefully when Romario opened the backdoor for first him, then Hibari. "We're back," he added, needlessly. "Home sweet home." 

"Mm," Hibari agreed and nodded his thanks to Romario before Dino's right hand man got back in the car to return it to the garage. He nudged the blond toward the house then, before the distance from his men threatened destruction. Thankfully most of the house was a safe zone with so many near by. 

It was late when they climbed the marble stairs to the front door, few of the lights in the Cavallone mansion left on. The foyer was quiet as Hibari trailed behind Dino, contemplating how it was still strange to leave his loafers on when they walked through the door. 

There was silence between them too, as they entered the house, took the curving stairs up to the second floor and the hallway that led to Hibari's temporary quarters. The only sounds were the offbeat duet of their footsteps and Hibari noticed the way Dino's shuffled in his steps instead of picking his feet up properly. 

He eyed the other's gait and gave him a critical once over when Dino came to a stop in front of Hibari's door. "I thought you said you weren't injured," he said, pointed disconcern injected into his voice. 

Dino blinked dumbly. "I'm not," he agreed, clearly uncertain as to what Hibari meant. "At least, no more than before." He'd paused with one hand on the door handle and now he pushed it open, gentlemanly, with a slight bow of his head. "Well. This is you. Haha..." 

Expressionless, Hibari looked in to the room without moving. Then he looked back at Dino, frowning at the corners of his lips. "What are you doing?" 

"Um. Walking you to your room to say goodnight?" Dino guessed. "I mean, I'm not trying to make you do anything if you don't want to go to bed now, I just thought that-- well you seemed very sleepy in the car and I figured you'd -want- to sleep when we got back, so I was just--" 

"I slept in the car." He walked past the open door and past Dino several steps before he paused again, giving a half-hearted glance over his shoulder. "Are you that stupid, Cavallone?" 

Dino frowned. "I thought I was being considerate..." 

Hibari just snorted derisively and continued down the hall. Dino caught sight of him loosening his tie just as he rounded the corner for the mafia don's own bedroom. 

It took an embarrassingly long pause before Dino's brain caught up with what he was seeing and his footsteps --hurried now, not shuffling-- sounded down the hall as he caught up with Hibari as the younger man reached for the door to Dino's quarters. He said nothing as they stepped inside, the Cavallone following, hovering nervously, no good at concealing his emotions when outside the boardroom or the negotiations table. "Kyouya..." he finally breathed, when the door snapped shut behind him. "You--" 

Hibari seemed to almost ignore him, sliding out of his jacket as he walked through the office and living space that lay outside of the bedroom. He hung it and his tie on the coat rack near the desk. Then he paused and looked at Dino questioningly in the dim moonlight that filtered through the gauzy curtains that shaded the French doors to the veranda. "Is this not the logical conclusion?" he wondered, seeming puzzled by Dino's hesitation and breathlessness. 

"Well, I... suppose," Dino hemmed, clearly torn, though Hibari didn't understand what was his dilemma. The Cavallone watched him pull free the expensive leather belt as he followed Hibari to the bedroom, eyes riveted on his moonlit form, the soft blue glow in his hair that made Dino itch to touch it. "I don't want you to feel... obligated in any way," he heard himself mumble, as though his morality demanded it, insisted that he be sure there would be no taking advantage here tonight. 

Just inside the bedroom door, Hibari stopped and Dino froze under the pin of his gaze. For a long moment the Japanese man just looked at him, quiet and calculating. There were two buttons undone on his shirt -- downright scandalous for how neat Hibari was with his appearance, never seen without a tie or with a cuff rolled up, no matter the temperature. Then slowly, hypnotically slowly, he eased closer and one and then two fingers curled under the knot of the wrinkled tie Dino still wore. Hibari said nothing. He just closed his eyes and lightly pulled Dino's lips to his, sure and unhesitating. He kissed soft but lingering, then held Dino just there, on the breeze-like barely brush of lips. Just there, almost a kiss. Almost but not quite, not quite enough. It had been a long time. A long time of not quite enough. 

"Oh," Dino breathed, understanding. "Oh," he said again, a sound of agreement as his hands found the small of Hibari's back, drew him closer to claim another kiss, deep, hungry, but gentle enough to let Hibari know that he wouldn't take control unless it was wanted. "Do you... want to help me with this?" he wondered, lips on Hibari's, one hand closing around the fingers still entangled in his tie. 

Slowly, still wordlessly, Hibari slid the knot down, down, silk slipping against tied silk and free of Dino's collar. It fell to the floor without so much as a whisper and Hibari looked up at him with his hooded eyes. They scanned his face slowly in a way that left his breath bated and those hands -- hands calloused by tonfa, two bringers of death and suffering -- slid soft and gentle into blond hair. They threaded lightly through and drew Dino in again, watching him as he took another kiss. Another deep kiss. And this time it wasn't hungry only on Dino's part. It was cautious and slow as Hibari himself, a little tense with anticipation, perhaps at the idea of the unknown. Then his eyes slid shut and his lips parted, fingers digging into Dino's hair. Surrender and desire and a tiny crack in his veneer showing uncertainty for reasons completely different than Dino's. 

Dino took his wrist then, led him to the bed, sat him down. Then he knelt, smiling, kissed at the top of Hibari's knee as he worked first one shoe free, then the other, pulling his socks off too, to tuck carefully away in each loafer. He looked up then, searching for and finding Hibari's gaze in the dim of the room. "I don't have to worry about you, hm? You'll box me about the face if I do anything you don't like, won't you?" 

There was surprise in Hibari's eyes as he watched this display of reverence, of the tenderness that Dino had always been there... just not like this. "Mm," he finally agreed with a nod, steeling himself again. "In the best case." 

"Good," Dino hummed, a tiny sigh on his lips. "Then I won't hesitate any more." He rose onto his knees, kissing up Hibari's thigh, breath warm through the fabric of his tailored slacks. He lifted his head then, finding and plucking free the rest of Hibari's shirt buttons, letting the garment fall open, pushing it back from his shoulders, freeing his arms and kissing his palms, the tips of his fingers, the inside of his wrist. "You're beautiful, Kyouya. Every part." 

His sharp eyes watched Dino's every move, allowing himself to be undressed, watching the worshipful kisses placed on his skin. The joy and desire ambient in Dino's warm eyes. But at his words, Hibari's expression turned sour, his nose wrinkling and lips pursing, brow furrowing. If there had been any sort of decent light, Dino would have seen the color that blossomed over his ivory cheeks. Rather abruptly, he wrapped his arms around Dino's neck, hugging him closer so that his warm cheek came to Hibari's chest. "You're so... Italian," Hibari complained quietly, 

He could feel the quiet laughter on Dino's mouth, the huff of breath against his bare skin. "I can't help it, Kyouya," was his predictable answer. "You know that." He turned his head then, to kiss there, where Hibari held him, the flat place at the center of his chest, then higher, until he could reach no further without standing. "I can't lie to you..." And then he was on his feet and pressing Hibari back with his good hand, ever gentle, even when the younger man tensed at being pushed onto his back. But now Dino could reach him better, every bit of him, and he kissed more firmly, mouth open and warm, at line of Hibari's collar bone. 

Hibari tensed, feeling strange and vulnerable and very much like he wanted to flip Dino over and kick him off the edge of the bed. But he had been the one to initiate this and, he reminded himself, he did in fact want it in spite of his natural propensity to avoid just this sort of situation. But then again... that was rather nice.... he squirmed a bit under Dino, tucking his chin and attempting to look down, to see what the other was doing and generally hindering his efforts. 

But Dino didn't protest his moving, only laughed when he aimed for a dark nipple and Hibari's shifting meant he got the edge of an armpit instead. The Cavallone didn't lose heart or patience, but moved a little slower, kissing his way back up to Hibari's mouth, hair falling over his brow, tickling Hibari's as their lips met. 

He was rewarded when a measure of the tension faded from Hibari's frame beneath him and his mouth nudged back. This, at least, was moderately familiar. They'd done this some and there was a new found familiarity in the taste of Dino's mouth and the softness of his lips. Cautiously, he parted his lips to seek more of that taste, noticing the way his own ears heated, the way his heartbeat sounded loud in them. 

Dino followed his lead here, opening up to Hibari and his explorations, using his own tongue to coax his farther in, allowing a deeper taste of his mouth, a quiet moan slipping free, encouraging. With only one good arm, Dino's options for using his hand were limited and it wasn't long before frustration moved his weight back onto his knees, leaving his good hand free to touch, fingers smoothing over the bare expanse of Hibari's chest, grazing just briefly the nub of a nipple. 

There was a sharp breath between them, Hibari's hand jumping to Dino's shoulder as the shiver of sensation stole through him. For a moment it seemed he would stop Dino but instead he just gripped faintly at the tattooed arm, his tongue sliding wet between their lips. Twining, stroking slowly at Dino's which still lightly tasted of good wine and the earthy flavor of the other man which he'd been surprised to learn that he appreciated. Something was beginning to knot in his stomach, the heat pooling there. His hand on Dino's arm squeezed faintly, the tiniest sound between them as Dino's tongue pushed him back and filled his mouth with its warm exploration. 

It was as good as a 'keep going' coming from Hibari and Dino took it for permission, pulling back just enough to watch the younger man's face as he let his thumb brush over the nipple again. That sound, almost too quiet to be heard, again and Dino smiled, ducked close again, this time to find that sensitive spot with the tip of his tongue. 

Teeth grit, tension flickering through Hibari's features at this new sensation. His nipple hardened instantly under Dino's tongue, as though his body were spiting him with its eagerness for the other's touch. Had the room been this warm before? Dino's tongue lapped at him, like liquid velvet over his wanting skin and before he could stop it, his shoulders pressed back involuntarily, his back arching just the tiniest bit. He could feel the flush creeping down his throat. 

And Dino's fingers traced that flush, chasing goosebumps too, as he moved to kiss the other side of Hibari's chest, tongue clever and hungry, searching for the best way to pry Hibari's voice free, to get his fingers clutching at the bedsheets. His touch crept lower, dancing down Hibari's side, the angle of his hip, one finger hooking in the waistband of his slacks, tracing the hem inward. 

The vulnerability of it set his teeth on edge and in the past, vaguely similar sort of attention had inspired him to attack the Cavallone. It took everything in Hibari to fight back his instinct to flip the other on his back, to pin him to the bed with an arm at his throat. Perhaps the only thing that kept him from doing so was the unusual butterflies forming in his stomach. The unfamiliar warmth of building arousal was distracting enough that it kept his violent tendencies at bay. His eyes were hooded, lips faintly parted as he watched Dino's face, considering... "Have you done this many time before?" he asked abruptly, his matter-of-fact tones apparently unaffected by whatever he was experiencing. 

Dino blinked, had the grace to blush at Hibari's pointed question, though he didn't pull away, nor stop what he was doing. "Enough to know what I'm doing," was his answer, then a beat, a consideration. "But not many times, no," he admitted. fingers finding, pausing at the catch of Hibari's slacks. "Does that bother you?" 

"No," Hibari answered and his careless tone let Dino know he wasn't lying. Propped up slightly on his elbows, chin tucked down, his eyes flickered from Dino's hands and then back to his face. "I haven't." 

Dino gave this knowledge a moment's careful consideration, his hands held still while he observed the younger man beneath him. Perhaps he wanted to ask again, if this was okay, if it was really what Hibari wanted, but then perhaps he was coming to understand Hibari well enough to know that such a question would only be insulting. Still, in his eyes was something like mild surprise, maybe not for the truth Hibari had just spoken but for the fact that he'd told Dino at all. "You'll tell me if I do anything you don't like." Dino's voice was gentle, but his words weren't a suggestion. 

With breaths slow and measured, deliberate, Hibari watched his face for a moment longer and then shifted his weight to one arm to lift the other hand. He ran his fingers once through the wild golden hair, trailing down and lingering on the angle of his jaw. He made a quiet, affirmative sound. 

"Good," Dino breathed, and then his hands were moving again, plucking free the button there, giving the zipper a tug. But before he continued, Dino straightened up, pulled his own shirt off, over his head in one swift motion before dropping over the side of the bed. It wouldn't, after all, be quite fair if Hibari were the only one to bare his skin. And Dino seemed more than willing, his belt discarded shortly thereafter, with a thump, to the rug. 

Hibari watched, almost uncomprehending, and he realized he hadn't thought about this. He had, of course, calculated everything, weighed pros and cons, considered deeply his every move. But he hadn't thought about *this*. About Dino baring himself, hovering over him in the dark, tattoos crawling over his toned flesh. He hadn't thought about the flush of his mouth or the desire in his eyes and he certainly couldn't have anticipated the way it made his own stomach tighten and all of the tension of feeling vulnerable instead melted between his thighs. "Come here." He guided the other closer again, tugging him until he once again hovered over Hibari and the moonlight drizzled over every muscle. Hibari reached out a pale hand and touched his chest, fingers sliding over his skin and the recent, fading scars from the attack. Over his tattoos and behind his neck, pulling him down again to his own lips. "More of this first. I want to feel this." He eased Dino's mouth to his own, kissing deep and slow but there was a new passion there. He wasn't just exploring or experimenting. His arms curled around the Italian's neck and nails trailed over the skin of his back and he arched his neck and his spine, pressing up, hunger heating his kisses. There was a comfort in this, in shared space and his own arms around Dino, his own hands grounding him to the moment. But where he squirmed before like something under a microscope, under Dino's worshipful touch, here his body gave in to desire and pressed up against the other's weight. His breath hitched when the fullness he hadn't even been aware of rubbed between them. 

Dino moaned quietly above him, into him as they rocked together, slowly, learning the feel of each other and giving Hibari whatever he needed. The Cavallone Tenth was a patient man, and if his eyes told the truth, he'd been waiting for this for a long time. He hummed when Hibari's touched him, hissed when nails scraped over skin, when fingers felt the rise of old tattoos and new scars. He kissed back, pressed back, his good arm holding them up as the other, still in a brace from wrist to elbow, slid under Hibari's back, held him close, and he could feel that Dino was no less affected than he, straining tight in his own slacks, searching for contact. But Dino didn't rush, he made no move to return his hands to Hibari's hips, to finish undressing him or anything more. Not yet, not yet. He was waiting for him, understanding. 

It was powerful. Perhaps more powerful than anything Hibari had experienced or at least as powerful as some of the rage and hatred that had in the past boiled in his veins. More powerful than expected, when he was huffing faintly over Dino's lips between kisses, when his hands were threading through soft gold. Bare skin sliding against bare skin felt far better than he would have thought, a low heat gathering with every brush of palm or tongue. Eyes slit over flushed cheeks, Hibari watched the other's face as his own fingers trailed across a pink nipple and paused to offer it a tease. He smirked against Dino's mouth. 

"As fast a learner as always, Kyouya," Dino breathed, once the shiver had passed, nipple stiff under Hibari's fingers. He ducked then, to catch at Hibari's mouth, to take his lip between his teeth, biting just faintly in imitation of the threat that Hibari was so fond of making. 

Hibari made a startled sound, blinking in the dim light but then a shudder stole through him at Dino's teeth on his skin. And as soon his lip slid free, he returned the gesture, finding intense pleasure in the soft flesh between his teeth. He ran his tongue over the trapped heat, nails raking up Dino's back, eyes open, watching him. 

If Dino had ever complained about Hibari's promises of biting, he certainly wasn't now. Indeed, as the younger man caught and teased his lip, a deep sound of pleasure rumbled in his throat and when he was freed, the Cavallone wasted no time in pressing his face into the curve of Hibari's neck, taking the taut line of muscle there between his teeth, humming into heated skin, and waiting to see what Hibari would do next. 

Defensive tension flickered through Hibari's frame, preceding a quiet gasp and a moment's hesitation. His head was fuzzy, as though he'd lost a great deal of blood in battle and his hands gripped at Dino's back, uncertain if he wanted to feel that bite or to flip the other man over, to pin him and bite him back. Then, nails digging into muscled flesh, he swallowed and tilted his chin, leaving himself utterly exposed. Baring his throat to Dino, giving himself up. 

And he could feel the way Dino shuddered above him, understanding, gratitude and desire in the breath on his neck, the bite that let him go and came again, just a little harder, as hungry as he to feel this. "Kyouya," he moaned, kissing where his teeth had marked, licking up the length of Hibari's throat, biting again beneath his jaw, lips on his pulse. "I want you..." 

Thrill made Hibari's spine arch involuntarily, made his hips press up into Dino's weight and the heat between them. His breath huffed, the sensation already more than anything he was prepared for. Sure he'd touched himself, particularly recently in preparation for this very thing. He was loathe to come completely unprepared. But he realized his own touch never could have prepared him for Dino's hands and mouth and how he was left feeling.... undone. Needing and wanting more with every touch and every passing moment of ache, with every kiss upon his skin. Face hot, he turned his head and pressed into Dino's hair, lips brushing his ear when he whispered a single smoldering word. "More." 

"Anything," Dino promised, kissing once more at Hibari's jaw before drawing back to settle him to the sheets again, easing lower, lips grazing and teeth scraping here and there, taking one nipple and then the other into his mouth, sucking hard until Hibari's body jerked beneath him. He kissed his way down Hibari's belly until he found the slacks he'd already loosened. Here he hovered just a moment, breath hot as it soaked through cotton, and then he coaxed Hibari to lift his hips, guiding his legs free of the garment. 

Hibari cursed the deep flush he knew was coloring his cheeks as he was bared, full and flushed and damp. He forced himself to keep his hands still and not cover himself up but there was a strange, unintentional glint of challenge in his eye as he watched Dino. As though this might have all been a ploy to get Hibari naked and vulnerable and then attack him in different ways than he already had been. 

But Dino only dropped Hibari's slacks and underwear off the side of the bed --a show of disrespect for the garments that he'd have to be punished for later-- and went to work on his own pants, slipping briefly to his feet to let the fabric pool to the floor, leaving his boxers in place for the moment, perhaps out of respect to whatever modesty Hibari might have left. For a beat he just stood there, staring down at the Hibari, laid out across his bed, naked and pale in the dim light from the window, glaring up at him, waiting for him. Hibari watched him swallow, watched his lips part, a shallow breath drawn between his teeth. "Kyouya..." he said again, as though he couldn't get enough of the sound of it, like he needed to say it or the Vongola's Cloud would disappear before him. 

Lifted up on the angle of his elbows, Hibari studied him in the dark for a long moment, eyes raking him. And then he sighed and closed his eyes and smiled, the sort of smile reserved only for Hibird or a warm breeze or a stroll through the Namimori grounds. "Hurry up, Cavallone." 

And Dino laughed, a clear, unashamed sound, and joined him without any further hesitation, climbing up the length of Hibari's body, pressing kisses as he went, devouring Hibari's mouth when he found it, rocking against him, hip to hip, only a single thin layer of cotton between them anymore. 

There was no further hesitation on HIbari's part either, prepared for his kiss and pressing back, warring Dino's tongue with his own. His hands slid over warm, peach hips, pressing into the small of his back, pressing them together when he rocked again up. His fingers played over the edge of the other's underwear, the very last garment between them. And then without releasing his mouth, Hibari pushed them down, snagging them with his toes at the knees and letting them fall to the floor. There was a tiny sound into Dino's mouth as two heats brushed, kissed and he gripped the other's hip, dragging them together again to indulge in lurid friction. 

If Dino was still surprised at Hibari's new-found eagerness, he didn't say anything about it. He didn't say anything at all now, aside from the whisper of Hibari's name, lips moving against his skin as hips moved in time with hips, everything almost too warm, sweat already beading on Dino's brow, despite the half-open window. 

Without thinking, Hibari's thighs parted, their legs tangling and breath huffing together between kisses. Nails dug at Dino's skin, leaving welts when they moved just so and the pale frame beneath him tensed, eyes shut tight. And then abruptly, his hair was pulled and Hibari gave a soft gasp as he parted them. His face was flushed, lips kiss-swollen when he looked up at Dino with his intense gaze muzzy with desire but enforced with determination. "I want to do... *that*," he said quietly but confidently, catching the other's gaze. 

Dino blinked stupidly for a moment, searching Hibari's eyes for some further hint. "You mean... you want me to..." His face heated and his fingers were at the younger man's face, brushing mussed hair from his cheek. "... to-- to you?" 

"Yes," Hibari replied with a clinical flatness that betrayed his aroused body and flushed features. "You're more familiar with this than I am. It only makes sense. For now." He smiled again with a dangerous edge. 

"O-of course," Dino huffed, "Anything." It was entirely likely that he would have been unable to deny the younger man were he to ask for the roles to be reversed. "Just.. relax," he hummed, slid down Hibari's body until he was kissing at the inside of his thigh, one then the other. "Spread your knees, just a little more. Lift your hips." When Hibari complied, a pleased sound escaped the Cavallone's throat and he nosed closer, hands on Hibari's hips as he ducked between his legs, mouth open, tongue hot when it found the stretch of flushed skin, the tight ring of muscle beneath. 

Hibari watched with rather detached interest, shifting only a little when Dino brushed at his heavy arousal and moving to his request. When that warm, wet velvet reached... unmentionable places, however, the Cloud Guardian's frame went rigid and his eyes flew wide. A hand snapped out violently, snatching up a handful of Dino's hair and jerking his head back and safely away while Hibari stared down the length of his own body, crimson-faced and wide-eyed. "What are you doing?" he hissed. 

Dino flinched faintly at the mistreatment of his scalp, but he didn't struggle or try to pull away. "Just trying to get you to relax before we... go further," he explained, quickly, gently. "Does it feel bad?" 

"It's fine," Hibari said and Dino wasn't sure he'd ever seen him so flustered, much less seen the color that his cheeks and ears swam in. "It's ready." He slid his fingers from Dino's hair to instead find the other's hand. With a steadying breath, he guided Dino's fingers back to the place where his tongue had been about to venture. 

"O-okay," Dino nodded, torn between his own embarrassment and the beautiful novelty of seeing Hibari so discomfited. Still, he did as he was directed, wetting his fingers in his mouth first, no matter Hibari's assertion. Then, carefully, he felt out the tight muscled, pushing, slicking the skin, watching Hibari's face intently as he finally let the tip of one finger ease into the younger man's body. 

Hibari tensed briefly with a quiet hiss, but then he released his breath and relaxed around Dino's touch. He was surprised to find that it was, in fact, damp and slick inside and the way he didn't flinch or squirm was impressive for someone who admitted to never being touched in such a way. Had Hibari practiced for this? Had he prepared hours ago, after dinner, he'd excused himself to the restroom before they ever got in the car... He wouldn't put it past the other man to be completely prepared for the situation... but the thoughts that it brought to mind were startlingly erotic. 

He pressed deeper, waiting for Hibari to relax further, curling that finger and waiting for the hiss of breath, the intake of air and the tiny moan that told him to keep going. He did, pulling back enough to add a second finger, sliding deep again, stroking Hibari inside, searching. 

Hibari watched in the pale light, strange expressions passing over his face. Lips pressing together, brow furrowing, only for Dino to brush just so and break through his exterior, drawing forth a tiny gasp. He was aching with anticipation in spite of his outward control, his body betraying him with the wetness that already dripped freely from his tip. A quiet groan threatened to form in his throat and he swallowed it down, pressing against Dino's fingers and forcing him deeper. There was slight discomfort but nothing more than when he'd experimented with this before. Hibari's eyes steeled through the haze of desire that was threatening to take him and he glared at Dino with a sharp edge of breathless impatience. "/Now/."

Despite his earlier hesitation, when Hibari's eyes met his, when that single word sounded between parted lips, demanding and insistent, the last of the Cavallone's uncertainty faded. Now he only nodded, voiceless, as he positioned himself, slicking himself with quickly, almost clumsily in his hurry. He sucked in a sharp breath as he nudged between Hibari's thighs. He still watched the other man's face intently, legs shivering just briefly as he slid inside, more easily than he'd expected. 

Hibari met his eyes evenly, no manner of uncertainty visible until Dino was pushing in and Hibari's eyes flashed wide and then snapped shut with a quiet gasp. A heel hooked sharply behind Dino's hip, pressing hard, lest Dino get the wrong impression, that he didn't want it. He didn't tense and he didn't cry out, but his fists closed tight on the sheets, teeth gritting with a hiss. It was uncomfortable, moreso than when he'd done it to himself, and that was only to be expected given Dino's size. But more than that, it was intense. Powerful. Far more powerful than he would have thought, more intimate than anything he could have imagined. A surrender of power that somehow felt good and safe and left him needing more, wanting Dino closer, all around him and deep inside him. He panted, trying to force his eyes to focus with his heels wrapped around the other's hips. 

"Kyouya..." Dino stilled, not from hesitation but only to allow their bodies to become used to each other. He eased forward slowly, a little at a time, until he had filled Hibari entirely, buried to the hilt, and sparks danced in the edges of his vision. "You... okay?" he gasped, brow drawn and face red. 

"Yes," Hibari growled back in a tone that wouldn't have been convincing if Dino didn't understand Kyouya himself. He shifted, using his leverage around Dino's waist to tilt his hips, easing the angle of entry. He felt it when Dino shifted just faintly, felt the connection between them surging through his very blood. And though he found himself in possibly the most vulnerable, helpless position he'd ever been in, there was no defensiveness, no anxiety. He wished Dino were still wearing a shirt because he longed to tangle his hands in the front of it when he hissed, demanded, "/Move/." 

"Nngh," was the only answer Dino seemed capable of offering at that moment, but it became quickly clear that what he'd meant to express was agreement, because it wasn't more than a heartbeat later that he was curling close, weight once more borne on his good arm, the other finding, holding tight to Hibari's shoulder as he pulled back and drove forward, filling the slighter man with a jolt and a groan. When no protest was offered, the Cavallone let his mouth fall open, panting already as he repeated the motion, thrusting perhaps just a little harder than he might were it anyone else's first time. 

Hibari's hands clutched tighter at the sheets, his breath taken away by that first bit of movement and how hot lightning pleasure warred with a pain rather unlike anything he'd known. But seconds later he was used to it, his tolerance for discomfort nothing short of terrifying -- he appreciated Dino not holding back, not treating him like the virgin he was. But the intensity of it left him incapacitated, head and shoulders pressed back to the mattress and neck arched as Dino slid slick, in and out and again. His toes curled and he could do nothing but cling -- his legs around the other's body, his palms to the mattress as hot pleasure washed over him unlike anything he'd ever known. Of course he'd touched himself in the past now and then and he'd made sure that he knew what he was getting himself in for before he told Dino to do this to him -- but the difference between his own touch and the touch of another was simply staggering. As his senses slowly drifted back, he pulled with his legs, pushing Dino deep and before he could stop it, the tiniest cry tumbled from his lips. Instantly he clamped a hand over his own mouth, startled by the sound of his own voice and gave Dino a murderous look that barely managed to war with the haze of pleasure. 

Luckily, for the Cavallone's health, he made no comment, held back any laughter that he might have been tempted to indulge in. Still, when Hibari caught his eyes, there was something there, a brightness, and excitement which could only have been inspired by the sound the Cloud Guardian had made just then. Instead of saying anything, Dino simply moved, picked up the pace, let his own voice slip free, perhaps in the hope of encouraging Hibari to lose his own inhibitions. 

Hibari grit his teeth and groaned quietly, sweat sheening on his brow and chest as he grabbed again for the mattress to brace himself. Nails dug in, Hibari's breath hitching as Dino's movement sent sensation crashing over him like waves of heat. So deep -- so full -- Before his voice could break free again, he grabbed for the other's neck and dragged him down, crushing their mouths together and bringing Dino's weight on top of him. His surprised moan was muffled into Dino's mouth when his dripping, throbbing erection was trapped between them and his hips bucked involuntarily, smearing their stomachs with precum. 

Dino seemed to take no issue with Hibari's demands, perhaps only further encouraged to grind against the body beneath him, lips stretched in a pleased grin as Hibari bucked and squirmed, searching for friction, for the Cavallone's mouth, for more and more. And Dino was only too happy to give it. 

There was a moment in the back of his head where Hibari had a momentary thanks for the opulent solidarity of Italian furnishings -- the solid bed stayed quiet, immobile where a lesser frame would have rocked and squeaked in a most undignified manner under the attention Dino was giving him. So long as his mouth was crushed to the other man's, his voice came in muffled moans, then breaking with gasps as a particularly deep thrust hit him just so and he pressed his head back and again grit his teeth, biting himself into silence and punishing Dino with nails down his back for the pleasure that wracked his frame. It was almost too much, almost getting the better of him. He was like some tropical creature unprepared for the harshness of a blizzard, taken unawares by what he knew nothing of. But slowly, slowly he was adjusting to the rush of heat up his spine with every thrust, slowly he overcame the incapacitation and thrust back, ground up, kissed and bit at Dino's mouth between gusts of hot breath. If Dino thought he had the better of him, he had another thing coming. 

It was, of course, far more likely that Dino was thinking next to nothing at that moment beyond the rush of pleasure and the hope of hearing just exactly what effect he was having on the younger man. He hissed when Hibari's nails left smarting lines across each shoulder blade, he smirked against Hibari's mouth when another moan was muffled in a violent kiss and when Hibari's teeth punished him for the impudence to find humor in the situation, he groaned when Hibari's legs squeezed him, forcing him deeper, harder. 

Fingers tangled in Dino's hair, passion making Hibari's touch rough in that new urge driving him toward something... more. Ever more, never enough. And then suddenly there was a surge against Dino and he was flipped on to his back, Hibari's heat never letting him free. Both of Hibari's hands gripped at the sheets on either side of his head, curled over him. He smiled down at Dino, eyes hooded, knees on either side of his hips. Mouth and cheeks and chest were flushed, breathing came slow and heavy and there was molten desire in his dark eyes, dangerous and boiling. His short hair was damp with sweat and stuck against his cheek bones. He ground down into Dino's lap, the new angle making him bite his lip before he could think better of it. "You're still on the mend," Hibari murmured, low and husky. "You should lie back." 

"Okay," Dino agreed, almost without pause, his eyes raking Hibari's pale frame, the way he arched above him, skin shivery and slick, the way he could make even a blush look intimidating, every expression a new challenge. Now that his arms were free, no longer necessary for supporting his own weight, the Cavallone found better use for his idle hands. One sliding up a bare thigh, the other --after a moment's mischievous pause in which he caught Hibari's eye and grinned-- reaching for and encircling Hibari's own, long neglected arousal. 

Hibari frowned faintly, watching Dino's hand move as though he didn't know what he was doing. But then his eyes widened and his hands gripped at the toned muscle of the Cavallone's shoulders. "Y-yes," he hissed, jerking rough and hard into Dino's light grip and then down onto his cock. Nails dug savage crescents into his skin. "Do that..." It was a threat, not 'do it' but 'I'll bite you to death if you don't.' "Nnngh..." It was hard to keep his voice quiet with Dino's hands *there*, at the center of all of his desire, dripping thick and free over tattooed fingers. But he couldn't steal Dino's mouth again without hindering his movements, leaving him in a predicament of how to stifle his voice. And as he panted and rocked back hard and rough onto Dino's cock and up, into his grip, making conscious plans was quickly becoming very, very difficult. 

Dino hummed in return, lips parted as he watched, eyes hazy, but trained firmly on the man centered in his field of vision. His hand obediently continued it's attentions, thumb slicking across the head, rubbing underneath, while his other gripped at Hibari's hip, encouraging the motion of his body, even as his hips rose up to meet him. "It feels better if you let it out, Kyouya," he finally breathed, a risk, but he clearly couldn't help himself. "No one will hear..." 

There was a glare for his trouble but it was with great effort. Hibari's iron will was giving out under Dino's skilled fingers, his motions becoming less controlled, more erratic, more desperate. "I'm not --" He interrupted himself with a gasp and a curse, curling inward as pleasure tore through him. Hot and overstimulated, panting with lips shining with saliva, brow drawing in spite of himself. He shut his eyes tight then, riding Dino hard and fast and really much rougher than he should have for his first time. But perhaps it was the determination to drag Dino down with him if he was going to crumble under the avalanche of pleasure. A low, long groan was stifled only by Hibari's clenched teeth. 

"Good..." Dino huffed, not unaffected by the display --by the pace and the heat and the motion of the man atop him-- despite his earlier attitude. "So good..." He bucked into each of Hibari's wild thrusts, meeting them and driving himself deep, groaning each time Hibari shook over him, each time he managed to graze that place inside the other man. And still he kept his own pace, the slide of his palm wet and firm, determined. 

Hibari felt at a disadvantage. He had no defenses against the onslaught of pleasure that made his heart rate skyrocket and his blood heat, made everything in him desperate for nothing but Dino's touch, made his voice bubble up in choked moans and voiced pants of breath. "So good," met his ears again and he gasped a "Yes," unable to do anything but agree because it was -- so good. Better than anything he'd experienced, better than victory, better than punishment, beyond any sort of satisfaction. Everything was coiling ever tighter and hotter and he could see nothing outside of Dino's wanting face watching him and he wanted to kiss him, to groan and cry out into his mouth but it was almost as though he forgot how to get there. Because all he could do was meet his gaze with hazy eyes, his own lips parted with his panting breath and rocking -- jerking -- so good -- deep and slick, all fire and electric, up his spine and through his center again and again and again -- 

His own voice caught him by surprise but he was too far gone when the earnest cry spilled from his lips at the same time that his pleasure spilled between them, hot, thick streams over Dino's stomach and chest. So hard -- his body shook and clamped down around Dino, his head thrown back as he clutched at the other man's biceps. Everything went white in him, all his vision and thoughts blanked out and filtered down to /Dino/ -- inside him and stroking him and raking him perversely with his eyes as he trembled in more intense a climax than he thought was physically possible. He didn't even hear the other's name in a desperate, broken gasp on his own tongue. 

He didn't hear Dino's echoing moan, hardly felt the way those fingers dug hard into his thigh, and he was almost -almost- too far gone, his head too full and his ears ringing too loudly to realize that Dino wasn't far behind him at all. Pushed near to his own breaking point, the Cavallone seemed only to have been waiting for this, for Hibari to crumble, to cry out, to shake apart atop him, sweat and cum and flushed heat the accents to a perfect picture.

Hibari was still reeling, still waiting for his vision to return, when Dino's grabbed hold of his hips with both hands, thrusting upward hard and fast, once, twice and once more, crying out at the last as he threw his head backward, spine arching above the sheets and lifting Hibari's weight full off the bed.

When he came down, it was sudden and bonelessly, his chest heaving, mouth open and panting. He didn't seem to care about the mess of his torso when he reached up and took hold of Hibari's arm, dragging him down to crush him tight against his frame, nose buried in the curve of his neck, kissing Kyouya's name into the his salty skin. 

Still panting, Hibari wrinkled his nose with distaste as his own stickiness squished between them, both clammy with sweat as it was. He allowed Dino a moment to revel in it while he himself caught his breath, his head still spinning with the impact of newly discovered pleasure. He even managed to not be quite unkind when he pushed Dino back against the sheets and reached for a handful of tissues from the bedside table to clean them both up before the other man could rub his pleasure into their skin. His face was flushed, lips swollen and eyelids heavy, Dino still inside him as he sat up to silently wipe their skin clean. A violent shiver stole through his frame and his lips pursed with a sort of irritation but he found himself strangely reluctant to allow Dino to slip free even as they both recovered from the heights of pleasure.

Dino let him clean them up, distracted, reaching up for Hibari's face, to rub a thumb across his jaw, smiling even as the younger man scowled at him. "You..." he hummed, finding his voice as Hibari crumpled the tissues and set them aside. "Was it good?" he wanted to know, irritatingly enough. "Your first time?"

Defensiveness flared up in Hibari. The suspicion that Dino was mocking him made him want to strike out at the man he'd just shared such passion with. But when he scrutinized the Italian with his dark eyes, he found only sincerity and joy and adoration. Hibari scowled deeper but thankfully he couldn't flush anymore than he already was. He didn't answer, only lifted his hips and bit this inside of his mouth against the gasp that threatened with the shock of being suddenly left empty. His body never had felt quite as weak as it did just then, his thighs trembling in spite of years upon years of brutal training and toning. He sank down beside Dino into the place he'd occupied for so many cat naps and hours of reading or feeding Hibird in the time since he'd arrived. And finally he answered simply and quietly, begrudgingly, "Yes."

The smile on Dino's face couldn't have been more annoying or more radiant. "Good. I'm glad. Really glad." He turned on his side then, to better see Hibari, to lift a hand and brush sweat damp hair from his cheek. "Kyouya."

Reluctantly, Hibari turned his head and his eyes were drawn back to Dino's face, gently lit with moonlight and the ambient glow of the emotions he made no effort to hide. He should had swatted away the touch in his hair. He should have finished cleaning himself up, bid Dino good night, put his clothes back on. He should have taken a hot shower and slept in his own bed. But the touch in his hair felt good. And his body was exhausted and the bed embraced him and he found himself staring into the warm brown of Dino's eyes, unable to look away. Finally he shook himself and buried his cheek in the pillow. "I'm sleeping here," he announced. Wasn't this, after all, the reason he'd come to Italy in the first place, if he was completely honest with himself?

"Okay," Dino answered easily, then reached down for the sheet, drawing it up and over their legs before letting his hand rest on the curve of Hibari's waist, so effortless in his affection. "We can sleep in if you like. Romario won't disturb us."

"Mm," Hibari answered with a somewhat vague sense of uncertainty. His frame stiffened under the weight of Dino's arm across him, his own arms lying at his side. How easy it had been to demand his sex, to indulge in rough passion and now how difficult it was to uncoil his exhausted muscles under the gentle afterglow of the Cavallone. But slowly, ever slowly, his fingers moved, crept hesitantly until he let his arm rest over Dino's, his hand at the older man's elbow. He closed his eyes before Dino could catch them again.

"Good night, Kyouya," he heard, one last whisper beating out sleep for the last of Hibari's conscious attention. "Maybe you'll even dream about me," Dino added, ever cocky.

Hibari sighed the most quiet of exasperation and in the dark, eyes closed, he smirked faintly. "If you're in my dreams," he replied, turning his head where golden hair tickled his cheek. "I'll bite you to death even there."

"Good," Dino chuckled and Hibari felt his hair move with the gust of that breath. "I'd be terribly jealous if you treated my dream-self more gently than you do me."


End file.
